[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 16936]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             HONORING LOUIS' LUNCH ON ITS 105TH ANNIVERSARY

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                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 27, 2000

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today 
to celebrate the 105th anniversary of a true New Haven landmark: Louis' 
Lunch. Recently the Lassen family celebrated this landmark as well as 
the 100th anniversary of their claim to fame--the invention and 
commercial serving of one of America's favorites, the hamburger.
  A hundred years ago, Louis Lassen, founder of Louis' Lunch, ran a 
small lunch wagon selling steak sandwiches to local factory workers. A 
frugal business man, Louis did not like to waste the excess beef from 
his daily lunch rush. So, he ground up the excess, grilled it, and 
served it between two slices of bread--without ketchup. With a meat 
grinder and a streak of that infamous Yankee ingenuity, Louis changed 
the course of American culinary history, serving America's first 
hamburger. This is the story that each faithful patron will hear when 
they visit the small Crown Street luncheonette still owned and operated 
by the third and fourth generations of the Lassen family. Hamburgers 
are still the specialty of the house where steak is ground fresh each 
day and hand molded, still slow cooked on the same turn-of-the-century 
gas grills, broiled vertically, and served between two slices of toast 
with your choice of three acceptable garnish: cheese, tomato, and 
onion. Requests for ketchup or mustard are briskly declined. This is 
the home of the greatest hamburger in the world--a claim that is not 
easily contested--perhaps best known for allowing their customers to 
have a burger their way or not at all.
  More than just another diner, Louis' Lunch has held a special place 
in the hearts of the residents of New Haven for more than a century. 
Thousands turned out in the 1960s and 1970s when the city announced 
plans to raze Louis' to make room for a new high rise building--
testimony to its immeasurable popularity and special place in our 
City's history. After fighting City Hall for ten years, Ken Lassen, 
Louis' grandson, agreed to move the luncheonette to its present Crown 
Street location. To help with the reconstruction, patrons donated 
bricks for the new walls. Today, as he takes you on the ``tour of the 
walls'', Ken recounts each brick's unique story and can point to stones 
from Rome's Colosseum, paving bricks from Lisbon, Portugal, even a 
chunk of rock from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. 
Designated an historic landmark in 1967, it was with great pride that I 
nominated Louis' Lunch as a part of the Library of Congress' ``Local 
Legacies'' project earlier this year. The Lassens and the community of 
New Haven shared unparalleled excitement when the Library of Congress 
named Louis' Lunch a ``Connecticut Legacy''--nothing could be more 
true.
  The Lassen family has left an indelible mark on our community's 
history--and our country's history. I know the New Haven community will 
join me as I stand today to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Ken 
Lassen and his family on the 105th anniversary of Louis' Lunch. My best 
wishes for another century of success.

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